Great Workout Centers & Fitness Tips

Gym Marketing

Here is a fitness tip for all my gym owners who are struggling to get clients.

The fitness industry is booming. With 1/3 of the American population either overweight or obese, fitness and fitness related programs have become a mainstay of the American culture. That’s good news for the fitness professional. The bad news is that there are a lot of fitness related products and services on the market now. Standing out among the crowd takes hard work and a fair amount of marketing know-how. Don’t let that discourage you. Below are my top five tips and tricks for gym owners, to help them set their business apart from the rest.

1. SEO Services

A recent survey revealed that most Americans search online before making any major purchases. The same is true for those looking to invest in a gym membership or new fitness equipment. Your gym’s web page or blog should be Search Engine Optimized so that it pops up when potential clients are searching for local gyms and gyms reviews. If you aren’t a marketing wizard and most people aren’t, it may be worth your time to invest in an SEO service for gyms. Believe it or not, there are marketing services targeting the fitness industry specifically. Since your first point of contact with most new clients will be online, get a professional to design an effective marketing and social media campaign for your gym.

2. Create Social Groups

The fitness trend for 2015 are leaning more towards small group training sessions. Take advantage of that trend and use Facebook or other social media platforms to set up Summer Slim Down or Beach Ready groups that use your gym as their training and meeting location. This way you will attract new clients, retain older ones, and create positive reviews and feedback surrounding your gym.

3. Healthy Business Competition

Be the official gym of a fitness challenge for local businesses. This will take some legwork, but it is well worth the effort. Get local businesses to join the challenge and put together a fitness team. Decide what the goal will be. (% of weight lost, number of hours logged at the gym, etc) Then offer participants free trial memberships. Be sure to put up a big display at the front desk to keep track of who is winning. Once participants get in the habit of going to the gym, they are more likely to continue going after the challenge has ended. This is an ideal opportunity to build up your e-mail list for an e-mail campaign and sign up new members, so encourage your front desk staff to push these options. This is a great way to get fresh faces in the gym and create some positive buzz about your facility.

4. Social Media Campaign

Run a mobile ad on Facebook. Offer non-members a free week pass if they check-in on Facebook or Foursquare. Allow your guests to upgrade their free week pass to a free month long pass if they leave a Google Review. Once again, this will take a little effort on behalf of your front desk, but you create buzz and gain new members this way.

5. Videos

The growth of virtual personal training sessions and online gyms has tapped into a great opportunity for you and your staff. Streaming home workouts is a growing trend. So too are health and fitness videos featuring local personal trainers and fitness instructors. Recording a weekly or bi-weekly segment where you offer yoga poses, healthy eating tips, strength training advice or recommend health-related products and services will get you noticed.It will also help to brand your gym as a hub of information. Be sure to feature your employees and instructors in your videos. End with a call to action and give your gym’s location, web address, and phone number in the video description. As long as the content is valuable and uploaded regularly you will gain a following. Don’t forget to answer questions left in the comments section either in a short reply or in the following video. Uploading videos to your company’s YouTube, Daily Motion, Google+ and Facebook pages will help you get the word out.

The essence of a good marketing plan is to show your audience that you offer a value-added experience. Using both conventional and digital marketing technique lowers the barriers of entry for your clients and communicates your credibility with a new generation of digital native gym goers.